Moments Leading
by CrestfallenCatharsis
Summary: Was something wrong with Maka? Why was she acting so off? A collection of scenes in which Soul thinks a lot about his meister, all leading up to... For SoMa Week 2017! Rated T for language. -Oneshot-


**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters-they belong to Atsushi Okubo. Happy SoMa Week 2017! Here's a nice fluff to start us off. SoMa Week Day 1: Confession.**

 **XxX**

"Hey, Soul. What am I to you?"

He looked up at his meister across the table.

"Um, you're my partner?"

"Well, no shit. I mean how do you feel about me?"

He nearly choked on his sandwich. Was the bread dry? It stuck to the roof of his mouth, which also seemed to have lost all of its moisture. He swallowed, hard.

"You're, uh, cool? I guess?"

"That's it?"

Where was this coming from? Did she hit her head too hard? He felt beads of sweat form on his forehead. They had just finished a mission and walked into the nearest place that sold food. Occasionally, people would give Maka strange looks since she was covered in dirt and a gash spread across her cheek from her ear to her chin. He scowled at them.

"I don't know. Why are you asking this?"

"Just curious. Don't change the subject."

She pointed her fork at him, an annoyed expression on her face. Soul stiffened, knowing full well she wouldn't care about physically scolding him in public. He's convinced there's a slight dent at the top of his skull to prove it.

"You're aggressive. How about that?"

She glared at him. He doesn't know why he has an urge to piss her off as if it's a part of his reason for living, but he can't seem to stop doing it. He prepared for the blow, but after a moment, nothing came. Instead, she kept eating, twirling the noodles around her fork. They ate in silence for the rest of the meal, and Soul couldn't help but think he saw a solemn look on her face as they left the store.

 **XxX**

"Like this?"

"Um, well, it's more like this."

He moved her hand over the piano, gently placing each finger on their respective keys. She sat on the bench in front of him while he stood over her. Her dusty blonde hair tickled his chin.

"Maka, relax. You're too uptight to play piano."

"I am relaxed! Maybe you're just not a good teacher."

She spun her head to face him, her nose less than an inch from his. He tried to stop it, but he could feel his face get warmer.

"L-Look, you need to bend your fingers more."

He took her hands in his and applied pressure on the ends of her fingers to bend them. It occurred to him that he had just put his arms on either side of her body. He froze. She felt so warm, but her fingertips were freezing. He gazed at her neck, which he had an unhealthy habit of staring at. Her skin looked milky and smooth. He noticed a fine layer of goose bumps ran up it to meet her jaw.

"Okay, I got it. You can let go now."

She swat his hand away. A wave of embarrassment washed over him and he cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Sor- _ry_ Miss Bookworm. Whatever. Just hit this key here."

He pointed to G. She did as she was told, except a little too literally.

"Whoa, don't actually _hit_ it. Tap it, like this."

He set his pointer finger on the key and pressed. Maka repeated his action. He directed her to the next note, then the next, and the next. He kept stealing glances at her face. It was so focused, so concentrated. So...red?

"This is stupid. I can't play piano."

She stood up, clearly frustrated. Her hands were balled into fists. Just as she was about to turn and stomp away, Soul grabbed her wrist.

"Wait a minute! You're the one who wanted to do this in the first place. You can't just give up like that."

Tingles shot up his arm from the contact. He stared her in the eyes. Moss green, like a forest. He followed the bridge of her nose down to her mouth. He gulped.

"I changed my mind, okay?"

She glared at him, then down at her wrist in his grasp, then back at his face. She tried pulling away, but Soul was stronger.

"Hey! You can't just leave!"

"And why not? Why are you so into this anyway?"

"I- You-"

"Spit it out!"

Soul scowled. He forgot for a moment how irritated she made him. He let go of her.

"Fine. Thanks for wasting my time."

"You're very welcome."

She marched out of the room. He sighed, then sat down on the piano bench. What was up with her? Suddenly asking for him to teach her how to play piano, then getting angry and quitting so quickly. It's unlike her. More importantly, what was up with him? He knows better than to touch her so much. He can't help getting totally, dumbly flustered by just a slight graze of the arm. He's surprised she hasn't figured it out yet. He put his face in his hands.

"This is pointless."

 **XxX**

 _She'll never love me_ , he kept telling himself as he watched her laugh with their friends. He felt his stomach drop as she smiled at Crona. He's seen that smile everywhere, directed at everyone one time or another-everyone except him. He grinned at something Black Star had said to him, but he didn't really hear it.

"Soul?"

He snapped his eyes in her direction. Did she feel it? Were their souls so connected that she could sense his emotions right now? He dug his nails into his palm.

"Could you pass me my water?"

Ah, of course. He pushed the glass toward her, releasing his nails from his skin. He left marks. He knows it. It stung, but he's had worse injuries.

 **XxX**

"God, why are you so damn infuriating?"

"Why are you so immature?"

He raised his eyebrows. Immature? Him? Patty is immature, Black Star is immature, but him?

"Me? I've nearly died for you on more than one occasion. You're the one always throwing yourself into reckless situations like some kid!"

"I never asked you to do that!"

"But I do it!"

She had tears in her eyes. He had made a mistake bringing up this topic. He knew she was still sensitive to all the times he had put himself in harm's way for her sake. His scar across his chest gets to her even after nearly ten years. He kicked himself.

"Why? Why do you do that?"

She was almost sobbing. Shit. He went too far. This argument was originally about leaving his dirty socks in the living room. How did he mess up this badly?

"Because it's my responsibility as your weapon."

"Don't give me that."

She shot daggers at him, her watered eyes furiously searched his face for anything more than what he said.

"And I think you're too good to die."

He was being careful with his words. He couldn't say everything. He couldn't tell her.

"You're strong, brave, and confident. Someone like that shouldn't die."

"But you shouldn't die either."

He ran his fingers through his hair. He wanted her to understand, but he didn't know how.

"That's not really the point. I mean you're important to me, and I don't want to lose you."

"But, you're important to me, too."

No, now is not the time for his heart to be pumping out of his ribcage. He tried thinking of something else to tell her, but he couldn't get her words out of his mind. He scratched the back of his head, his eyes looking everywhere but at her. He was about to speak when he set his sight back on her again. She looked so beautiful, her hair let loose instead of in her usual pigtails. He didn't notice before, but she was wearing his sweatshirt. Why? Didn't she have her own sweatshirts? He didn't care. His gaze travelled up the length of the zipper to her neck, then her jaw, then her mouth. God, how he just wanted to-

"The only way I know how to make my feelings any clearer is by kissing you."

Shit.

"What?"

 _Shit_.

He said that out loud. To her. She was standing right there. He tried to read her expression. He could only see shock, which to Soul said it all. She didn't love him. He already knew that. He _knew_ that, and yet-

He was kissing her. Her lips tasted like fruity lip balm. After a few seconds, Soul noticed she hadn't pulled away. No, she was kissing him _back_. He reached his hands up to cup her face, wiping away the tears that had drizzled down her cheeks in the process. He felt the wound she acquired from their earlier mission and grew concerned for a moment before realizing the situation he was in for the second time: _She was kissing him back_.

Eventually, they separated. His hands remained on her face as they stared into each other's eyes. He thought his heart was about to explode out of his chest. Maka smiled at him- _that_ smile.

"So _that's_ how you feel about me."

"Shut up."

When Soul brought her face up to meet his once again, she didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.


End file.
